Martin leaves position as acting administrator

WEST CALDWELL TWP. - Joseph A. Martin Jr. of Francisco Avenue
will leave his position as acting county administrator and return
to private practice as of Wednesday Dec. 31.

"This is a voluntary resignation," Martin said. "I agreed to
come on for about six months. A new administration is like running
a start- up company."

Martin, who was appointed last January by County Executive
Joseph DiVincenzo, said he expected to serve as acting
administrator for just six months, but his role was expanded last
June when he took on the additional duties of interim director of
the Department of Corrections.

"At first I thought it would be three months. The county
executive wanted a year. So it turned out to be longer than I
thought.

"It's the right time to make a transition. I still have my
office and I'm looking forward getting back to client services," he
said.

Martin's firm, J. A. Martin & Co. in Roseland, is a general
management consultant to school districts and state and local
public authorities. The firm has been in business for about seven
years.

"I've either been working for government or consulting to them.
This is an appropriate time to go back to consulting," Martin
said.

"I enjoyed immensely working for Joseph DiVincenzo and I have a
tremendous regard for the county personnel who work in the jail
security system. I'll be very glad to see the new jail open,"
Martin added.

Martin will remain as acting county administrator until the end
of the year, when Kevin Galland, the county's purchasing agent,
will succeed him as interim county administrator.

"Joe [Martin] has been a valuable resource of knowledge for my
administration and eagerly took on the demanding responsibility of
running our Department of Corrections while also fulfilling his
regular duties," DiVincenzo said in a prepared statement. "He
provided professional leadership for our Corrections Department
during a critical time when we have had to operate two antiquated
facilities and prepare for the transition into our modern
facility…Joe has done an outstanding job."

Transition To Doremus Avenue Jail

When DiVincenzo took office last January he promised to finish
construction on the new Doremus Avenue Jail within one year and
close the two existing jails.

Toward that end, DiVincenzo made some reorganization moves
within his administration. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, he named Capt.
Cleophas Simpson as the acting director of the county's Department
of Public Safety and he said he would also seek to hire Paige Plus,
a consulting firm in Trenton, to assist in a creating a smooth
transition during the consolidation from the Jail Annex on Elm
Street in North Caldwell and the Newark Jail to the new Doremus
Avenue facility.

Simpson has been a county corrections officer for the past 27
years and spent the past two and half years as the transition
coordinator for the new jail.

"Cleophas Simpson has intimate knowledge of our new jail because
he has worked at the site every day. Naming him director is a
natural fit because he will be overseeing the jail he helped
create," DiVincenzo said.

A request for approval of a $60,000 contract for Paige Plus will
be sent to the Essex County Improvement Authority (ECIA). The
contact length is expected to be about four months.

The purpose of the firm is to help Essex County plan for the
transition, develop an operational plan with appropriate staffing
levels for the new jail.

"Essex County has invested a tremendous amount of resources into
this new jail and Paige Plus can provide the professional expertise
we need to make sure we are operating efficiently and not wasting
resources at our new building," DiVincenzo said.

Possible Layoffs

"There is no doubt that with the consolidation to the new jail
there will be layoffs [of security officers]," DiVincenzo said in a
telephone interview." "But at this time I don't have any idea what
the number will be."

Joseph Amato, president of the Police Benevolent Association
(PBA) Local 157 at the annex, addressed the issue of layoffs in an
e-mail dated Wednesday, Dec. 3, in which he said, "The county
executive announced to jail union officials that the new jail will
create the need to lay off many correction officers and to demote
superior officer to lower ranks."

DiVincenzo confirmed Amato's statement, but said the purpose of
the new jail was to consolidate the two existing facilities into
one and experience a cost savings.

"In 2005, the county will begin to pay between $10 million to
$14 million in debt service annually over 30 years," DiVincenzo
said. "The only way you can make up the dollars is to consolidate,
save on personnel and facility maintenance."

DiVincenzo said construction of the Doremus Avenue Jail should
be completed by Wednesday, Jan. 7, and will be followed by a month
personnel training and the completion of any punch list items.

"Early March we will be closing down Caldwell and Newark and
consolidate the two facilities into one. The only way that we can
save taxpayer dollars is by consolidating into one facility," he
said.

DiVincenzo said he had also contacted State Corrections
Commissioner Devon Brown about the probable layoffs of corrections
officers.

"The state needs corrections officers so I told Commissioner
Brown and next week he'll tour our jail. These people are going to
need jobs now. I'm hoping he may be able to find a place for
whoever we layoff," DiVincenzo said.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Be Yourself. We do not accept and will not approve
anonymous comments. If your username is not your name, please sign
your posts as you would a letter to the editor with your full name
and hometown.Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.